Steps to Healing
by moodiful819
Summary: There are steps to healing. Just like everything else, there are steps. “We’ll take it slowly then.” Slight Kakasaku if you squint.
1. Chapter 1: The Problem

It's a short drabble series. I am actually pushing for a real drabble series instead of my pseudo-drabbles which are actually just short oneshots. I'm trying to procrastinate on my health homework, but technically, since I'm doing something that will create something important, I would call this productive.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Ch.1: The Problem

Everyone has had a bad day at least once in their life. Genma once woke up to discover his lady friend wasn't actually a lady. Gai had woke up one morning to find all his clothing had shrank in the wash and had to borrow one of Lee's outfits which was three sizes too small. Shizune once had to do Tsunade's entire stack of paperwork for the day after the blonde woman found out she had been the one hiding her sake, and Neji had once ran out of conditioner and had to go to train with frizzed hair that Tenten found funny to no end.

So when Kakashi was found once again at the bar counter with a dish of sake in his hand, everyone waved it off. It wasn't the first time they had seen him there. He was probably just having a bad day.


	2. Chapter 2: Denial

I have just discovered the fun of drabble-writing. I might just have gotten into a new addiction phase.

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Ch. 2: Denial

He didn't have a problem. A shinobi like him did not have problems. He could not have human-based problems if he was merely a tool, despite his human form. So what if he was at the bar more often than before? So what if he was getting sloppy and coming back with more injuries? He was getting the job done. And no, he wasn't covering anything up. He wasn't drinking to dull the pain. He wasn't hurting on the inside or anything. He was just having a drink, but Genma didn't think so.

"Kakashi, maybe you should stop."

And despite the slight inebriation he felt, he could still recognize the worry in the senbon-sucking man's tone. He spun the small sake dish in his hand.

"I don't have a problem, Genma, so stop worrying. I'm fine."


	3. Chapter 3: Anger

I don't know why, but I feel dizzy and cold. I think I might be coming down with another cold. Oh darn.

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Ch. 3: Anger

The world had not been kind to Hatake Kakashi today. In fact, it hadn't been kind at all recently. His water-heater had broken last week and his shower that morning had been ice-cold. The day before that, a bird pooped on his shoulder, and early this morning, he had returned from another failed mission; the third one in two months leaving three people in his five-man group in critical condition. Tsunade said if he didn't shape up, he would find himself barred from missions until a performance review was done, and since he couldn't argue with the leader of his village, he decided to vent his frustrations in a bit of training.

The trip to the training field had been quite pleasant with the slightly cool breezes and the fields of flowers standing happily in the sunny day and its blue skies, but when he arrived, he found out the area he had chosen was currently in use by his rival, his rival's student, and his rival's student's love interest and his former student, and immediately felt like burying himself in the ground. If he buried Gai, the spandex-clad man would still be audible, no matter how far down he dug.

And when the Gai ran towards him the ideas of a grand challenge of unimagined youthful proportions, his student rooting for his idol as the pink-haired girl laughed politely, his first action was to politely decline, but tact was never Gai's forte.

"Come on, Kakashi! This is a tournament of youth! A sushi-eating contest will definitely prove who is cooler, unless you already realize that I am the coolest cat around!"

At the bowl-cut man's bellowing and Lee's own addition of cheering, he felt something in him snap and quickly turned to face the man.

"Listen Gai, you are not my rival, so stop calling yourself that. I do not want to participate in your idiotic ideas; this one or any other contest you decide to force upon me. It's ridiculous and I'm not going to humor you anymore."

"But…"

"Go away, Gai."

And as the three watched in stunned silence as Kakashi stalked away from the group. Genma began coming up the hill with a worried expression on his face as Lee and Sakura exchanged glances and Gai blinked in amazement before tears began falling from his eyes. As he stared at the retreating back of his friend, he realized that this was the first time Kakashi had been angry with him.


	4. Chapter 4: Acknowledgement

Well, I recently got started on antibiotics for an infection I got. It's the first time I've ever had antibiotics and they taste horrible inside. It reminded me of this story and to celebrate the fact I've successfully swallowed my first pill, I'm updating today. R&R please.

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Ch. 4: Acknowledgement

Stools squeaked in the dim bar lights hanging above his head. Ice rattled in a metal cup as one of those fancy mixed drinks was being made; the smell of cigarette smoke reached his nose and somewhere on the opposite side of the bar, people cheered on the contestants of a drinking contest.

Kakashi sighed quietly as he stared into his greyed reflection. It had been roughly a week since the incident with Gai. He honestly didn't know what caused him to snap at him. As absurd as his challenges were, Kakashi never turned them down and actually found many of them quite enjoyable. He enjoyed the time spent with his self-proclaimed rival because Gai was somewhat of a friend to Kakashi, despite their seemingly one-sided relationship.

And as he stared into the shallow sake dish, watching as his exhale rippled the surface, he had to wonder if he really did have a problem, but eventually chalked it up as another off-day and knocked back the alcohol, feeling it burn his throat as it slid down.


	5. Chapter 5: Apathy

My first successful drabble.

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Ch. 5: Apathy

Glasses clinked around him once more. It was almost becoming a comfort for him to sit in the bar. People were becoming more worried the more he came here. The messages were starting to sound the same now and had stopped reaching him a long time ago. He had stopped caring and nothing was going to change that fact.

And with that thought, he knocked back the alcohol and hummed to himself the melody of a song he had heard on the radio that morning.


	6. Chapter 6: Sorrow

I feel so sleepy, but I'd like to thank all the readers and all the people who took the time to review. Love you guys.

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Ch. 6: Sorrow

Wind howled across the grassy fields as he kneeled in front of the memorial stone. The moon was full that night and as he pressed his knees into the well-worn dirt, he stared at the flowers illuminated by the moonlight, watching the smoke from the incense sticks carry on the wind to ghost over a recently-carved name cast in shadow; a name he was partially responsible for.

The man had been a relatively new jounin, He had had six months experience and Tsunade decided that he could gain more field experience with a slightly larger safety margin if he had Kakashi to look after him. He couldn't care less about him. With light brown hair and a boyish charm about him despite the man being twenty, nothing was out of the ordinary about him. Like most people new to the ranks, he expressed great honor at being on _the_ Hatake Kakashi's team and all the silver-haired man could think of was that he honestly couldn't give a rat's ass until the boy smiled and he was suddenly reminded about Obito's boyish grin. Actually, during the entire mission, he was reminded of Obito, down to his teammate's demise as the boy stepped into a trap and was impaled by wooden stakes until he was a bloody mess. If Kakashi had actually been paying attention instead of thinking of his old teammate, the boy might have still been alive. He might have even given the boy the sparring session he wanted.

His calloused fingers ran over the fresh grooves, brushing out the flecks of rubble still remaining when he heard footsteps approach him from behind. At her trademark scent, he realized it was Sakura and waited for her to do something until he realized she wasn't there for anyone but him. The thought was endearing and when he suddenly began crying, she politely turned her head away and closed her eyes, ignoring the sounds of his sobbing to spare his dignity.


	7. Chapter 7: Acceptance

I forgot a story again. Sorry, my summer's really hectic and just to let you all know, I will be dead starting July 27 because I will be attending a medical conference thingy at the state college for my hopeful future as a nurse. Wish me luck because I have no idea what I'm doing anymore.

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Ch. 7: Acceptance

Birds sang their songs proudly in the treetops. Spring had come full-force to Konoha and even this late in the season, the air carried a hint of wildflowers wherever it went. In the shade of a tree, Kakashi sat slumped with his back to the tree.

"I think I might have a problem," he said after a pocket of silence, watching as a butterfly floated aimlessly on the hilltop.

His companion turned to face him, her beryl green eyes staring at him with startling clarity. "I think so too."

And she did not pull away when he laid his head on her shoulder, emitting a small, tired sigh.


	8. Chapter 8: Help

Well, I stayed home today. Don't ask, but I will tell you it had nothing to do with any physical illness (well, technically it did…kind of), but anyway, sorry about not updating anything big, but those big projects will probably on hiatus until summer. Until then, these short stories will have to do.

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Ch. 8: Help

Haruno Sakura did not get good sleep. A good night's sleep was no longer in her vocabulary since she had completed her preliminary work to become a medic five years ago. Though it was a job she loved, it meant getting up at odd hours to perform emergency surgeries or not even leaving the hospital at all, inhaling coffee to keep awake. She was lucky to get six hours of sleep, let alone the recommended eight.

So when a tap was heard at her window and she turned her head to see Kakashi, she didn't begrudge him for her lost sleep. As a medic, it was expected of her. Quickly ushering him to speak (she had an early morning shift the next morning), he did as he was prompted.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I know it's late, but well…I was thinking about things lately, and we both know I have a problem, and I was wondering if—"

"Sure."

"What?"

"Sure," she repeated, causing Kakashi to sit on her windowsill for a few seconds, mind reeling at how quickly the issue was resolved before shaking his head. Figuring out how to articulate once more, he began the beginnings of 'can you repeat that?' only to give up upon realizing she had already fallen back asleep.


	9. Chapter 9: Healing

Happy holidays! :D

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Ch.9: Healing

Sandaled feet moved through the grass. It was late morning and the clarity of the blue sky made it feel like the day would never end. A sigh was heard.

"Isn't it beautiful, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked aloud as she twirled in the grass, smiling as her hair became carried upon the wind current. Kakashi merely nodded in silent agreement before setting down his bag, returning to his standing position a few feet away from his pink-haired former student with him watching as her hair floated back down to her shoulders, her eyes wandering about the training field.

And that was how they stayed, silence hanging between them as they merely stood in the sun and Sakura smiled as a dragonfly caught her eye, letting it wander about her before letting it fly away on its on whim as Kakashi counted the painfully awkward minutes slowly passing by. Hesitantly, he slowly turned his head, trying to catch a glance of her face so he could have a sign of what to do next. Naturally, his plan had failed, but instead of asking him what he was doing, she smiled pleasantly and promptly kicked him into a tree.

_Crack!_

The sound of splintering bark echoed throughout the tranquil fields as Kakashi spat up blood. It soaked his mask and he found himself tasting and smelling iron with every breath he took. A shadow cooled his face and he looked up just in time to see pink before a searing pain in the form of a hand-shaped mark made its home on his cheek. He ripped down his mask and wiped away the blood as best he could before screaming, "What the hell was that for?!"

Sakura answered with a smile that was beginning to grate on his nerves. "How do you feel?"

At that, he stared at her wide-eyed, gaping openly to expose his reddened teeth and the flecks of red still trapped on his tongue. "How do I feel? You sent me flying into a tree and you just slapped me hard enough to crack my jaw! You tell me how I feel!"

"You seem upset."

"Well, how am I supposed to feel about that? Happy? Sorry to disappoint you Sakura-chan, but I'm not a masochist," he said spitting out the remaining bits of blood and glancing up to see her smiling pleasantly at him. He gnashed his teeth. "Are you going to just do that all day?" Sakura laughed.

"You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?" he snapped tiredly as the adrenaline began to die in his system. She merely smiled again.

"You didn't think once about drinking or drowning your sorrows. Instead, you released your emotions with a healthy bout of screaming."

And he stared at her, stunned by her words, not because of their surprising depth, but their accuracy. Not once during the last five minutes had he thought about the wrongs he had done or drowning them in alcohol and screaming like that had done something to him. It was the most emotion he had expressed in a while.

"Feel any better?" she asked smiling cheekily and despite his fractured ribs and the angry bruise blooming on his cheek, surprisingly he did feel better.


	10. Chapter 10: Happiness

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! And I'd say Happy Valentine's Day for tomorrow, but screw that! I'm going to A.O.D.! :D

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Ch.10: Happiness

Clouds skated across their blue background as birds twittered in the branches above him. Despite it being fall, the day felt more like spring and if he remembered correctly, today was also his birthday.

"Hey sensei!"

Peering over the side of the branch he sat upon, he looked down to see a familiar pink head of hair.

"Sakura-chan," he greeted pleasantly.

"Sensei! Come down here! Do you really want to spend your birthday reading in a tree? You can do that anytime!"

"Not true, Sakura-chan. I have missions, mission reports, taking care of you four—my schedule is quite busy and you wouldn't want to rob an old man with his leisure time, would you?"

"You're not old, now come down here! I'm buying you lunch right now!"

And quick as a flash, he leapt down into the field to stand beside her, a smile on his face. Surprisingly, his book was nowhere to be seen. "Ready to go?"

"Hold on, you have leaves stuck to you. Stay still," she ordered as she circled around him. Through the material of his vest, he could feel the brushing motions of her fingers on his back and relaxing, he closed his eyes and breathed in the fall air. Suddenly…

"Wait, where's my book? Sakura!"

"Catch me if you can, sensei!" Sakura shouted, bounding over the hills towards the village. Stunned by her childish behavior, he stared at her back for a minute before laughing and running after her.


End file.
